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Authors: Bart D. Ehrman
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shall destroy with the sword
your fortified cities in which
you trust. (Jeremiah 5:15–17)
Jeremiah was quite explicit: the holy city, Jerusalem, would be destroyed in the coming onslaught. “I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a lair of jackals; and I will make the towns of Judah a desolation without inhabitant” (9:11). 25 The resultant suffering for the inhabitants of the land would not be pleasant: “They shall die of deadly diseases. They shall not be lamented nor shall they be buried; they shall become like dung on the surface of the ground. They shall perish by the sword and by famine, and their dead bodies shall become food for the birds of the air and for the wild animals of the earth” (16:4). The siege of Jerusalem by the foreign armies would lead to unspeakable horrors, as starvation mounted in the city and people resorted to the worst forms of cannibalism simply to survive: “I will make this city a horror, a thing to be hissed at; everyone who passes by it will be horrified and will hiss because of all its disasters. And I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and all shall eat the flesh of their neighbors in the siege, and in the distress with which their enemies and those who seek their life afflict them” (19:8–9).
Like his prophetic predecessors, Jeremiah held out hope as well. If the people would simply return to God, their suffering could be averted: “Therefore thus says the L ORD : If you turn back, I will take you back and you shall stand before me…. And I will make you to this people a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you, but they shall not prevail over you, for I am with you to save you and deliver you, says the L ORD . I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked, and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless” (15:19–21).
The logic of this hope is clear. Suffering comes from God. If his people will simply return to him, the suffering will end. But if they refuse, it will intensify until there is a final destruction. Suffering in this view is not simply an unfortunate set of circumstances driven by political, economic, social, or military realities. It is what comes to those who disobey God; it comes as a punishment for sin.
An Initial Assessment
What are we to make of the prophetic view of suffering? It is not simply the view of several lone voices in remote portions of Scripture, but rather the view attested on page after page by all the prophets of the Hebrew Bible, major prophets and minor prophets alike. Moreover, as we will see in the next chapter, the influence of this view extended well beyond the writings of the prophets. It is precisely this view that guides the chronologies of what happened in the nation of Israel in historical books such as Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, and 1 and 2 Kings. It is a view found in many of the Psalms. It is comparable in many ways to the view found in wisdom literature such as the book of Proverbs. This is a view that permeates the Bible, especially the Hebrew Scriptures. Why do people suffer? In part, it is because God makes them suffer. It is not that he merely causes a little discomfort now and then to remind people that they need to pay more attention to him. He brings famine, drought, pestilence, war, and destruction. Why do God’s people starve? Why do they incur dreadful and fatal diseases? Why are young men maimed and killed in battle? Why are entire cities laid under siege, enslaved, destroyed? Why are pregnant women ripped open and children dashed against rocks? To some extent, at least, it is God who does it. He is punishing his people when they have gone astray.
I should stress that the prophets themselves never state this as a universal principle, as a way of explaining every instance of suffering. The prophets, that is, were speaking only to their contemporaries about their specific sufferings. Even so, there is no escaping the gruesome realities of
your fortified cities in which
you trust. (Jeremiah 5:15–17)
Jeremiah was quite explicit: the holy city, Jerusalem, would be destroyed in the coming onslaught. “I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a lair of jackals; and I will make the towns of Judah a desolation without inhabitant” (9:11). 25 The resultant suffering for the inhabitants of the land would not be pleasant: “They shall die of deadly diseases. They shall not be lamented nor shall they be buried; they shall become like dung on the surface of the ground. They shall perish by the sword and by famine, and their dead bodies shall become food for the birds of the air and for the wild animals of the earth” (16:4). The siege of Jerusalem by the foreign armies would lead to unspeakable horrors, as starvation mounted in the city and people resorted to the worst forms of cannibalism simply to survive: “I will make this city a horror, a thing to be hissed at; everyone who passes by it will be horrified and will hiss because of all its disasters. And I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and all shall eat the flesh of their neighbors in the siege, and in the distress with which their enemies and those who seek their life afflict them” (19:8–9).
Like his prophetic predecessors, Jeremiah held out hope as well. If the people would simply return to God, their suffering could be averted: “Therefore thus says the L ORD : If you turn back, I will take you back and you shall stand before me…. And I will make you to this people a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you, but they shall not prevail over you, for I am with you to save you and deliver you, says the L ORD . I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked, and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless” (15:19–21).
The logic of this hope is clear. Suffering comes from God. If his people will simply return to him, the suffering will end. But if they refuse, it will intensify until there is a final destruction. Suffering in this view is not simply an unfortunate set of circumstances driven by political, economic, social, or military realities. It is what comes to those who disobey God; it comes as a punishment for sin.
An Initial Assessment
What are we to make of the prophetic view of suffering? It is not simply the view of several lone voices in remote portions of Scripture, but rather the view attested on page after page by all the prophets of the Hebrew Bible, major prophets and minor prophets alike. Moreover, as we will see in the next chapter, the influence of this view extended well beyond the writings of the prophets. It is precisely this view that guides the chronologies of what happened in the nation of Israel in historical books such as Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, and 1 and 2 Kings. It is a view found in many of the Psalms. It is comparable in many ways to the view found in wisdom literature such as the book of Proverbs. This is a view that permeates the Bible, especially the Hebrew Scriptures. Why do people suffer? In part, it is because God makes them suffer. It is not that he merely causes a little discomfort now and then to remind people that they need to pay more attention to him. He brings famine, drought, pestilence, war, and destruction. Why do God’s people starve? Why do they incur dreadful and fatal diseases? Why are young men maimed and killed in battle? Why are entire cities laid under siege, enslaved, destroyed? Why are pregnant women ripped open and children dashed against rocks? To some extent, at least, it is God who does it. He is punishing his people when they have gone astray.
I should stress that the prophets themselves never state this as a universal principle, as a way of explaining every instance of suffering. The prophets, that is, were speaking only to their contemporaries about their specific sufferings. Even so, there is no escaping the gruesome realities of
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